Cupid Cards: C'est la Vie
by kneazleFTW
Summary: BlaiseGinny. Feelings are memories when you're dead... Or so Ginny THINKS. Yet here's Blaise Zabini, her old, simply understood enemy, making her feel things she can't remember ever feeling in life.


**Author's Note:** My Valentine's Day Blaise/Ginny OneShot that is part of a series of alternate shipments OneShots I've done with SiriuslyPadfoot'sGal (aka- jkrsunkmyship) I've also written a Ron/Luna and a Harry/Pansy OneShot for this, and she a Draco/Hermione.

-ducks tomatoes thrown by D/G fans who were expecting some D/G love-

Chillax! Her story's actually VERY good for a Dramione! You all should check it out. I enjoyed it a lot, and I'm quite possibly the heaviest D/G shipper of all of you! So go check it out. It's good stuff.

**Disclaimer:**

Dear JKR;

It has been brought to my attention as of late that I do not, in fact, own any of your characters whatsoever, and I'm to give you credit when it's seen as appropriate. You are an amazing writer, and I idolize you for creating Harry and his friends.

But please, if you could find it in your busy schedule to alott me the rights to one Draco Lucius Malfoy, I'd be forever grateful.

Forever dreaming,

_Bree/Kneazle_

**Warnings:** Alternate pairing- even for me. Here's some Blaise/Ginny love for you B/G fans- though there are very few of you, sadly. I don't think there's any language in this at all... So I'll keep it K+ for you lot. Uh, "character death". -snicker- Just read to see what I mean.

* * *

_And suppose I never, ever met you  
Suppose we never fell in love  
Suppose I never, ever let you kiss me so sweet and so soft_

- "**Fidelity**" by Regina Spektor

* * *

"It's Valentine's Day, Red." 

"I know that, Zabini- bugger off, would you?"

"Back to "Zabini", are we? Come on, Red, I know something's eating you up."

"You don't know anything!"

It was as odd a sight as any- two translucent beings sitting on an erroding bench outside of a large, ominous business building. Well, it would be an odd sight- if anyone could see them. Death had done much to change the temperment of Ginny Weasley, but she still blew up occassionally at her only companion- one Blaise Zabini.

Blaise had been the first person she met in death, and that had scared her half to death- well, for lack of a better phrase, as she was _already_ dead but, technicalities are of no need. She had woken up, green spots blurring her vision slightly, only to look into hazy, dark violet eyes that had once been used to seduce many woman- more than one at a time, usually. She had, naturally, screamed. It had taken him hours to calm her down and explain that she had died- Avada Kedavra from a Death Eater- and that she would be with him until the busy people "upstairs" could see her and decide her fate.

It had been three years since that day, and Ginny was still wingless, but not-quite condemned. Blaise seemed to be in the same position, though she wondered sometimes just how long he had been dead. Even after all the time they had spent together, the dark-skinned young man never brought up his own death, and he rarely mentioned life. Though, granted, he spoke quite fondly of Draco Malfoy. So fondly, in fact, that Ginny had been lead to believe that they had been lovers in life, though Blaise looked like he torn between laughing until tears streamed down his face and hitting that awful idea out of her frighteningly red head of hers when she brought it up.

"Blaise," she sighed now, her dark eyes shining with nostalgia with a thin coat of sadness blanketing that, "did I ever told you what I did in my off-time during the War?"

"Not to my recollection," he told her, leaning back against the bench they sat in.

"Take a guess, then," she told him.

"Why? I'm sure you'll just tell me, anyway," he breathed arrogantly.

"Well, fine!" Ginny scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Just you wait- I won't."

"C'mon, Red. I know you want to tell me!" Blaise coaxed smoothly.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Prove it."

"You're fidgeting."

Ginny blushed, knowing that it was true, but said nothing.

"And now you're blushing. C'mon, you're too easy to read for you to try and play this game, Red," Blaise laughed, a lazy, arrogant smile rising to his dark face.

"Shut up," she responded lamely. "Just because I'll be with you for who-knows-how long does not mean you can be a gigantic arse at all times."

"I beg to differ."

Ginny turned to him now, her coffee-colored eyes laughing at him, though the rest of her face was twisted into a sort of scowl.

"You are incorrigible."

"You're adorable."

"Shut up."

"No."

Ginny sighed, knowing how this battle of wits would end. "I spent my time helping Fred and George with their pranks. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," Blaise said, his smirk growing. "So, why are you so gloomy now?"

"Besides, oh, being dead," Ginny said sarcastically, "The last thing I helped Fred and George with is making its debut today."

"Oh?" Blaise's eyes snapped to his companion's, his curiosity piqued.

"I see I've got your attention," Ginny spat. "But, yes, it is. It's absolutely ingenious, if I may say so."

"What is it?" Blaise asked.

"They're Valentine's Day cards."

Blaise looked disheartened by this and sighed heavily. "Excellent. I'm so proud," he bit out sarcastically.

"That's not all- you're forgetting that it's Fred and George and me!" Ginny snapped, and Blaise laughed a bit.

"Okay, Red, tell me what's so different about these cards."

"When they're opened, they release a gas. But not just any gas- vapors from a love potion- a weak one, but a love potion nonetheless," Ginny said matter-of-factly.

Blaise let that thought sink in before beginning to shake with barely-supressed laughter. "Oh, you and your brothers are bloody geniuses, Red. I'd love to see how many fun things could happen tonight... Is that why we're here?"

Ginny nodded. "The Ministry's played right into their hands by having this ball-thing tonight. It's going to be chaos, and I think I deserve a front-row seat, considering all that I put into those cards."

"Wonderful, and I get to see as well- this is excellent, Red!"

Ginny rolled her eyes at his words, but smiled despite herself. She kept her eyes on the building before her before speaking. "People are arriving now- I just felt Harry enter via Floo."

"Who's he with?" Blaise asked, more to himself than Ginny. "Bloody hell- is that-"

"Parkinson," Ginny finished for him, not all that surprised.

"You sound as though you expected this," Blaise observed. "Did you?"

"A bit. He's been her partner at the Ministry for the past three years since I..."

"I know," Blaise said softly, reaching out and laying his hand on her shoulder casually, but, as the same time, offering comfort. "You still loved him when it happened?"

Ginny snorted. "It's complicated."

Blaise was silent, knowing not to push the subject, as, even in death, Ginny had her mother's strength and temper, and that was no force any sensible man would challenge.

"Can we go inside?" he finally asked after several seconds.

Ginny's eyebrows shot up. "We would have find an entrance to the building, as we can't open doors or windows," she said slowly. "Or Floo or Apparate, for that matter," she added as an afterthought.

"That shouldn't be too hard," Blaise said arrogantly, standing up to reach his full six feet. "Come along, little Red, we're going to have endless of hours of entertainment after this night."

Ginny rolled her eyes at the name he had given her, but she stood anyway, reaching only three or four inches below her companion's height.

"Merlin, Red. For a girl, you're tall."

"Merlin, Blaise. For a boy, you're short," Ginny snapped back, though the smirk on her face betrayed her amusement.

He laughed at that. "Touche, love- shall we find ourselves an entrance?"

"Yes," Ginny said, playing along with equally-sparkling eyes, "I do believe we shall."

Finding an entrance wasn't as easy as Blaise had made it sound. Though they searched the entire building up and down, there seemed to be no open windows. However, after half an hour or so, a window opened up on- thank Merlin- the ground level, and the redhead and her ex-Slytherin friend clambored through it before it could be shut.

Now they stood in the middle of a large, circular room with all sorts of people scattered about its area. On the opposite side from where she stood, Ginny could see Harry and his strange companion snapping at one another- Actually, Pansy was doing the snapping; Harry chose to stare at her either calmly or dumbly- Ginny couldn't quite decipher it. Slowly, Pansy's temper cooled and she slumped her shoulders in defeat. She sighed and Harry smiled at her before heading to get drinks for the both of them.

"Merlin," Blaise breathed beside her. "He's tamed the beast!"

"The beast?" Ginny choked. "I hardly consider Parkinson a _beast_."

"That's because you weren't in her year or House, Red. We're not mad, she was not only a beast- she was a monster!"

"Oh, please, that's a bit over the top," Ginny sighed, finding herself slightly irate with her companion.

"Fine, don't believe me, but I'll tell you this- with the look she was giving Potter, I'm surprised his hair didn't sit down and stay there for a good decade or so."

Ginny didn't respond to this, she was too busy finding Ron, who sat with slightly flushed cheeks away from the Harry-Pansy scene that had just unfolded. He looked unfazed by their words, but his eyes sat fixed, unmoving, on someone who stood nearby the two death-walkers.

"Red," Blaise chuckled, "I'm assuming that your ingenius invention has to do with why Ronnikins is sending that look to none other than Loony Lovegood."

"Probably," Ginny said, not really listening. "Wait, what?"

"Look," Blaise said, pointing at Luna.

Ginny's eyebrows shot up in amusement as she caught the look and who it was directed to. "Things have really changed. Last I was 'round, Ron was obsessed with Hermione."

"Who I don't see here at the moment, I should point out."

"True," Ginny admitted, and it was. She couldn't seem to find Hermione, but Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, and Lavender Brown (soon to be Wood) stood on the wall, discussing something that seemed to be taking over the two boys' minds. Oliver Wood was engaging Percy Weasley in a conversation that Ginny cared not speculate on.

"Probably off reading a book or something," Blaise sighed.

Ginny punched his arm lightly. "Shush, she's not all that horrible, you know. You could try to be nice."

"I could also try to run for Minister of Magic, but you don't see me doing that now, do you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, knowing that this would be yet another conversation she'd lose face on. She offered no answer, but continued to scan the room, finding that her eyes often drifted to her eldest brother, Bill, and his wife, Fleur. As the ever-tomboyish girl, Ginny had never taken much of a liking to Fleur, especially after her third year, when she was convinced that Harry loved the part-Veela. Of course, the dislike she had once felt for the blonde was nothing compared to the full-blown hatred for Cho Chang after she had realized how much Harry did like the Ravenclaw girl.

Even in death, Ginny felt drawn to Harry. She wanted him to be happy... She had always wanted him to be happy... But Cho, in all her "perfection" would never be a choice Ginny would make for the green-eyed boy. He needed someone who could offer him more than sniffles and drama. Much more.

'Parkinson doesn't cry, I don't think,' Ginny told herself. 'I mean, she may come off a bit dramatic... But I hardly see her as the type that _cries_...'

"Red, it looks like your most favorite of living people has entered the building," Blaise said with a grin that Ginny could feel even without looking at the darker boy.

"The 'Mazing Bouncing Ferret, I take it?"

"Who else?"

'No one,' Ginny thought bitterly, and fought the urge to spit with every fiber of her being.

"He looks sufficiently ruffled for the evening. Probably already shagged someone, I'll bet," Blaise said, mock pride beneath his tone.

Ginny snorted. "You've spent far too much time with the bloke if you know his schedule so well even in death."

Blaise shrugged. "I sincerely hope that he wasn't too depressed after my death- then more people like your lovely self would think us to be... more intimate than we actually are."

"I still think that, Blaise. Of course, that could be because you nearly had a conniption the second he entered the room," Ginny pointed out, still scanning the room.

Blaise laughed. "Think what you will, love, but you should know that you're the only one for me."

"Of course. I'll wait for you even in death- wait..." she said with an eyeroll.

"You're so clever, Red, I'm glad you love me," he teased. "Do I ever get to see these Valentine Cards at work? I want to see the action!"

"Wait for it, Blaise. Give it a bit," Ginny coaxed patiently, taking in the faces of those she had left so long ago.

As she spoke these words, a small, plump cherub entered the room, followed by a stream of others. They flitted about, occassionally testing their small wings in flight, but mostly just hobbling up to unsuspecting witches and wizards, handing colored envelopes up to them before hobbling onto another.

"Ah, and the entertainment begins," Ginny said, supressing a giggle. "I do hope no one has an allergic reaction- that would be horrid!"

"Pipe down, Red, let me listen!" Blaise snapped lightly, and she rolled her eyes.

All over the room, the witches and wizards were timidly opening their gifts, pleasure evident in even the hardest of eyes. When the cards were pulled from their envelopes, they were plain enough- white, with an embossed rose placed on the front, but when they were opened...

Several coughs sounded throughout the room, and Ginny grinned as the puff of gas entered the air. She watched as Luna, unlike the others, did not open the envelope, but simply glanced at it before placing it in her small purse. The blonde looked up and made eye contact with Ron, who stood, empty-handed, looking at her oddly.

"If he doesn't make his move now, he's daft," Blaise drawled.

"Oh, believe you me, he's the most daft of the daft."

Her point was proven almost instantly as the redheaded boy's face changed to match his vivid hair. She laughed to hide how badly she felt for him- he'd never been the best with girls, and Luna was definately not an attraction she expected him to have. That anyone expected him to have, she reckoned.

"He's a meathead!" Blaise scoffed. "I mean, if you go for the loon type, Lovegood's not half bad looking. Then again, compared to you, there's, of course, no other who can compare-"

"Of course," Ginny said, her face straight through his teasing.

"- but Lovegood would fit the bumbling idiot well, I think. We should do something."

"Well, you should run for Minister of Magic, but I don't see you doing that, do I?" Ginny retorted with a sickeningly sweet smile.

"I'm dead, love, I can't run- otherwise, mark my words..." Blaise said with a dramatic tone. Ginny couldn't help herself- she laughed. Blaise sometimes had that effect on her when she wasn't spitting with anger or just generally annoyed by his presence. After the first year, she was more welcoming to his being with her, and, since then, they'd just clicked.

Not romantically, of course, as Blaise was not her type at all, but in a comfortable way that just worked.

"Thinking about me again, Red?"

Ginny blushed twice as many shades as her brother had before resigning herself to move towards the window she had entered from- too many people were entering the room, and, though she could allow them to move through her and stand with her in the same spot, it was too much of a scare to look down and see her arm replaced by a man's shoulder or something of the like. Unnerving, really.

Blaise followed her, but he was still watching Ron as he did so.

"Tell me something, Red," he said as she sat herself down on a chair- if anyone came to sit, she'd move- and he took one next to her.

"Ask me something, Blaise," she said calmly, not too amused by the shrieking women who were being chased down by this man or that.

"Do you like Valentine's Day?"

Ginny looked up at him, surprise dancing across her delicate, child-like features. She cocked her head in thought, allowing a few loose strands of flaming red hair to slip over her shoulder and hang limply.

"I've never really minded it, it's not something that I loathe," she said calmly enough. "Sure, there are moments I'd love to forget- such as "His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad" and so on and so forth... But, reallly, I don't dislike it. Do I wait in preperation of this very day for the other three hundred and sixty-four days of the year? Merlin, no!"

Blaise laughed. "Good answer."

"I thought so," Ginny said with a smile. "What about you, Blaise? Any deep fear of commitment that urges you to hate Valentine's Day?"

"I wouldn't go that far. I just greatly dislike pink, that's about it," Blaise shrugged. "Draco, on the other hand- Draco loathes the holiday with every passionate fiber in his being."

"Can't say I'm surprised," Ginny sighed, "at his disliking the holiday or at your finding yet _another_ way to bring him up in one of our conversations."

They laughed at that until silence fell over them. Boredom followed, and Ginny was left with nothing to look at but Ron- again.

"Dance with me, Red," Blaise said suddenly, and Ginny reached out, without even looking at him, and pinched is arm. "Ow!"

"Sorry, you scared me," Ginny said monotoneously, withdrawing her hand and continueing to watch her brother.

"I was serious Red- dance with me!"

Quick as lightning, Ginny reached out and pinched his arm again.

"OW! Merlin, Red- just DANCE WITH ME!"

Ginny reached to pinch him again, but he snatched her hand out of the air, forcing her to look at him and shoot a glare dark enough to smite.

"Let go of my hand, Zabini," she said slowly, darkly.

"Dance with me, Red," he said calmly, smiling at her even though she glared. "I won't let go any other way."

"I could cut your hand off."

"I could run for Minister of Magic but-"

"Okay, Merlin!" Ginny snapped, trying to fight the way her mouth was now tilting up at the edges. "This is unfair, you know."

"C'est la vie, Red," Blaise said ironically as he tugged her to her feet.

"That _was_ life, more like," Ginny pointed out with an eyeroll- she found that she did that often when around Blaise.

Blaise snorted. "Technicalities, love, let's dance!"

Ginny sighed, but allowed herself to be pulled into a series of steps she had forced herself to learn a few years before her death- thinking of how ridiculous she may have looked in front of a room at her wedding reception to-

'Don't even go there,' she told herself, resisting the urge to wince. 'That was a long time ago.'

She came to find that, being the dignified Slytherin he was, Blaise was quite the dancer. He was cautious enough not to step on her feet, but not too stiff to make her uncomfortable. Then again- could the dead be unsettled by a dance? She wasn't sure. She had been in this bizarre half-life situation for three years now, but she still didn't understand much, like why she could pinch Blaise, but she couldn't even make her brother's hair blow when she waved her hands over his head.

She knew that she could still feel the emotions she had experienced in life, but she didn't know if the ones she felt in death were genuine or just reflections of those she had once felt when her heart had pumped blood through her veins in a rhythmetic manner, keeping her brain functioning and her body warmed. Now her body was in a coffin, spelled against decomposition and resting next to her mother's brothers.

She thought she was confused, but Blaise had made it all easier. He had been a companion- though an odd one, he had been there. He had become all that she had, and she all he had. All he seemed to tolerate, at least. In the three years since her death, Ginny had yet to have come upon another in the situation she and Blaise were in. She felt unique. The only (girl) spirit to wander invisibly.

"Red, you're zoned out- that's hardly considered dancing," Blaise pouted, tearing her from her musings.

"Oh, I'm so very sorry, Your Majesty," Ginny said, sarcasm dripping from her tongue.

Blaise grinned, "I thought you would be."

Ginny, then, felt the slightest of tugs on her shabby jeans, and she looked down to see a cherub tugging at- suprise- a man's pant leg, which had cut right through Ginny's odd form. For a moment, she felt as if the cherub allowed its eyes to fall on her own, mostly due to the small, innocent smile that grew on its face upon looking at her.

"Can it see us?" Blaise asked, releasing Ginny from his grip.

"Perhaps," Ginny said calmly. "I'm not sure, though."

She felt the man reach down to grab the letter and she saw, with surprise, that it was a head of messy black hair that was lowered to take the envelope in long, scarred hands. Harry's envelope was green, and, when he opened it, he made sure to hold it away from his face.

He waited a good while as the mushroom cloud of pink smoke dispersed, covering his face all the while, Ginny looked over his slightly-hunched shoulder at the card. It was empty- void of any writing or pictures, but a small spout in the middle of the card shrunk and disappeared.

"The twins, I'd reckon," he told his dance partner.

"Wonderful," Pansy drawled, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Figures that they'd not think this all the way through. What if someone rapes another on accident? What if someone gets pregnant? How ridiculous."

But Harry wasn't listening, somewhere nearby, a card was opened, and his eyes were locked on Pansy. Ginny resisted the urge to gag as he moved towards her slowly. Instead, she turned to Blaise again and lowered her head.

"She makes a point," Blaise told her.

"Huh?" Ginny asked dumbly.

"What if someone's raped or impregnated? Do laws apply?"

Ginny laughed. "She thinks too lowly of my intellect on this- I made sure that the love potion was just one that would cause a boy to moon over a girl- even your dearest Draco would be hard-pressed to remember his... premiscuous personality with a whiff of that stuff."

Blaise smiled at her. "That's my girl, Red."

"I'm not your girl," she answered with a smirk. "Maybe if I weren't _dead_- or if you were the Minister of Magic..."

"Oh, shush," Blaise said with an eyeroll. "Oh, dear- Merlin, Potter sure knows how to eat face."

Ginny squeaked and closed her eyes, forcing all thoughts of that out of her mind. "Shut up, Blaise."

Blaise's mock-innocence was evident in his tone. "Can't a guy compliment his technique?"

"No. Especially when that guy is in my company," Ginny said, hearing his bark of laughter.

"Still, much is left to be desired, as I'm sure you know," Blaise said, and Ginny looked up at him with a dark glare.

"I'm done dancing," she told him and forced his hands off of her before turning and stomping off, making her way towards the window as quickly as possible.

"Red- wait! Red!" Blaise called after her, moving through people as quickly as possible to get to her.

Ginny was livid as she climbed through the window, not caring when the heel of her jeans was caught on the sill and ripped a bit when she pulled her leg over. She stomped off towards the bench she and Blaise had been on before entering the building, and she continued on past it when she saw it. Anger rolled off of her in waves, and she knew that if she wasn't careful, she could become a menacing poltergeist before she could say "Kill Blaise Zabini".

"Red, you're turning red- stop being so mad," she heard Blaise call.

"I don't care- you- you had NO right!" Ginny snapped. "I loved him and you- you DARE to tell me any different?"

"I said no such thing- I was simply critiquing his technique, surely you of all people could simply tell me to sod off and grow up. Unless there was something to be desired- we both know you're a crap liar."

She turned, her body shaking with a plethora of emotions. "Shut up, Blaise."

He was already there when she broke down in tears. She leaned against his torso, lips quivering as tears rolled down her freckled cheeks. Perhaps the tears weren't there- maybe it was her imagination, or her memory of life- but he let her sob all the same. He let her wrap her long arms around his waist, and he held her there. Despite death, her memory of Harry was not what she felt as she let him hold her.

It was different. It was small, and it was barely there- it no more consumed her than the small patches of freckleless skin did. Yet there it was, growing a fraction each moment that he held her.

He drew back first, and leaned down to wipe off tear tracks- or maybe, if the tears had been memory, he was simply stroking her cheek. She wanted to hide- she felt as though those same violet eyes she had woken up to in death could read her mind with one glance. She was scared, and be it memory or not, it posessed her.

"There, you've calmed down," he said.

She didn't respond, she simply watched him, her eyes locked on his with confusion and acceptance filling their depths before she noted that he was beginning to straighten.

Feelings and the memories of them make people and their souls do funny things, Ginny mused for a moment before reaching forward and lightly, gently pulling him down just slightly, her hands tangled in his sweater. She saw surprise in his eyes before another emotion flashed, and then her lips were on his.

It wasn't a memory that she felt as her lips connected with Blaise's. It was a new experience that shook her to the core. She found that her arms were around his neck, her hands in his dark hair as he kissed her back with a fevor that shot her timidness away. There were two things in the world- his lips, and his hands, and that was it. She could be contented knowing that much for now.

He pulled back slightly, and shelooked up at him quizzically as he smirked. Her cheeks would have flushed had she been any less experienced, but she held his eyes.

"Just to let you know, you can't just kiss me every time I get mad-" she began.

"_You_ kissed _me_, Red-" he cut in, smirking arrogantly still.

"- It's absolutely unfair."

He pulled her towards him, his hands reasing on her waist as he brought his lips to her own in a light, painfully sweet kiss that left her weak in the knees even after he pulled away.

"C'est la vie, Red."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Muahahaha, I like it a lot. Expect the Ron/Luna and Harry/Pansy stories as soon as my betas get the final file back to me. It'll be splendid. Lots of love to you all for reviews! 

Happy Valentine's Day.

Even if it's late.


End file.
